Sweets to the Sweet
by Sarah Gail
Summary: Vanellope may just be a glitch, but I can't stand the feeling I get when I see her cry. [Taffyta/Vanellope]


**Disclaimer: I do not own Wreck-it Ralph, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.**

Bullying was something that I was quite used to. Candlehead and Rancis may be apart of my exclusive inner circle of friends, but even they weren't always in the clear. It's not my fault, though. I know what's wrong and what's right, and some people might say that bullying is wrong, but I do it for the right reasons. After all, rules are there for a reason, and Taffyta Muttonfudge is always right. It's in my code.

Vanellope von Schweetz is a glitch, and a glitch is an error within the programming. "Error" was just a fancy word for "wrong." And if it's wrong and goes against the rules, then it's my job as an upstanding citizen of Sugar Rush to beat that error into submission and understanding.

But the Glitch was persistent. She was always trying to get into the races. She was always building her own karts and wandering around the track with this dumb, pitiful look on her face. Boo hoo, I wanna be a racer. Too bad, sugar cube. I will never race with a glitch. She's an error, and errors are just problems. And I don't like problems.

Sugar particles were kicked up and tossed into the air in soft clouds of smoke as I sped down to the junkyard. She was almost always there, tinkering with whatever was left over from crashes and karts built by the players. Usually, I brought the others with me. Nothing like a good ol' group bullying to make her see what a freak she is, but I decided to come alone. I could deal just as much damage as they could on my own.

Sure enough, she was there. Racing goggles drawn over her eyes, little feet peddling as fast as they could as she sat in her tacky, little kart. That kart remained stationary; she was clearly testing it for something, and judging from the smile on her goofy, little face, I assumed it was working just fine. That would have to change.

I shifted gears and blew my horn, and the Glitch flinched. She haulted all movements and snapped her head up to watch me speed down the curves and park right in front of her. At first, she looked distressed. She knew why I was there, but then she took on a look of confusion at the lack of assailants. I lifted my helmet from my head and hopped out of my kart. Her gaze shifted back onto me, and then she smiled slyly. The Glitch removed her goggles, and climbed out of her own kart. I stopped and jutted my hip out to the side.

"I see ya' came alone this time around," she said with that raspy voice. "Are you gonna be nice and apologize?"

"Why would I do that? You don't deserve an apology," I said, arms having crossed over my chest. She copied my movements, her own arms crossing, and quirked an eyebrow. That smirk remained on her features, and she turned to jump back inside of her kart. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you think?" she asked dumbly, feet peddling slowly. "I think I'm gettin' better at building these things."

"Look, Vanellope," I started, gliding towards the rinky-dink kart. I placed a gloved hand on the front and gave it a gentle pat. "When are you going to stop this? I mean, you're never going to be a racer."

She looked hurt for moment, then sighed and slid out of the kart once again. She seemed to want to say something, but instead went to check the tires half-heartedly. I rolled my eyes again. This was what I didn't like about bullying her. She always resisted the truth. She just had to look sad and disbelieving.

"I can be a racer," she said, lightly beating her fist against the tire. "I can be-I can be just as good as you guys!"

"No, you can't. You're a glitch." My temper began to flare, but I couldn't help it. I often wish she would just go and get deleted or something. This was starting to wear me out. "You're an error. A problem. And unfortunately, you can't be resolved. So it's best if you just stay down here, with all the piles of junk, and stop," I lifted my foot and kicked it into the side of the kart, forming a decent-sized hole and shattering the mechanics inside. "building these stupid, crummy karts!"

By the time I had finished speaking, the kart had been formed into nothing but a pile of broken parts, just how it started. But instead of screaming and crying and begging me to stop like she usually did, the Glitch merely sat there, turned away from the scene. I panted and lowered my foot back down to the ground, fists clenched at my sides. There was silence, and then I heard the sound that I hated more than anything in the entire world. More than errors and misconduct and the fact that Vanellope was a glitch.

Sniffling.

Soft sobs and uneven breaths of air and when she turned her head to look at me, I was only infuriated even more. Big, fat tears rolled down from those muddy-green eyes. Those chubby cheeks reddened, and those brows furrowed as a look of pure hurt possessed her features. And we stared at each other for the longest time until, finally, she looked back down. The Glitch slumped forward a bit, trying to bite back more sobs. I could tell she was simply waiting for me to leave.

But I didn't want to, and that's what confused me.

I almost wanted to apologize and tell her that it was only for her own good, but that wouldn't do. Then she'd take that as an opening onto the track, and if Vanellope was let on the track, it would be my fault. I would be an error. King Candy would ban me from the races in an instant, and I would be on the same level as Vanellope: an outcast. One little moment of weakness would send everything out of order, so to speak. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let everyone see Taffyta Muttonfudge as an error with a soft spot for the Glitch.

But when Vanellope sat there, trembling and sniffling and just being a big baby in general, my chest would hurt. Guilt would wash over me entirely and my stomach felt like it had been tied into a knot.

I didn't leave right away. Words would climb up into my throat and I would swallow them back down. Weakness was not an option, apologies couldn't be made. So after what seemed like forever, I rolled my eyes and silently pulled a lollipop from my pocket. I tossed it into the Glitch's lap, which made her flinch and slowly turn her head to look at me. By that time, I was already in my kart and pulling my helmet back onto my head. Vanellope blinked slowly, and I gave her an almost cruel, sugar-coated grin.

"Stay sweet."

And with that, I sped away, leaving her to sit in a puddle of her own confusion as a sugary-chocolatey cloud of smoke pushed around her.

Vanellope looked down to the lollipop, then picked it up and twirled it slowly between her fingers. The girl gave a soft huff of annoyance, but smiled.


End file.
